Page 56 of Equilibrium
You could slice the tension with a knife, and I was the one to blame. Hell, if they wanted to kick my ass for this, I wouldn’t stop them. I might encourage them.
“I made a deal with the Devil.”
“What ar—”
“I made a deal with Logan Nightingale.”
Whatandshit, and several other curses echoed around the room while I refused to meet any of their eyes. We all knew what he did, what his family did to us, and I fucked up. I fucked up because I was blinded by my own revenge, so much that I never even considered what this would mean for my club, my family.
“How could you?” It was Hunter that asked. His usual calm demeanor was cracking. His eye twitched as he glared at me, but I didn’t have an answer to that question. I was an idiot. He stood up and walked around the table, stopping right in front of me. “You know what he did to us. You know how we all feel about those motherfuckers.”
“I know.”
“Then fucking why?” he bellowed, the vein on his forehead popping.
“Hunt.” Indigo walked behind him, probably prepared to stop him if he tried to attack me.
“Don’t fucking start, Indigo. He,” Hunter pointed at me, “fucked up. The plan was to get back at them for what they did to us in Las Vegas. Or did you forget about that?” he asked. “Did you forget how they burned children, women and men in that fucking church?” His hands landed on my chest as he pushed me backward. “Did you forget the devastation we had to go through? The pain, the grief, those screams of families that lost their loved ones?” Another shove, and Felix and Atlas came behind me. “Did you fucking forget about Lilianna, my wife, or my little girls?”
“I didn’t forget.” But I felt like the biggest shit right now.
“Then why, Storm? Give me one good fucking reason not to knock the teeth out of your skull right now.”
But I didn’t have a good reason. The one I had wasn’t sufficient to agree to lay in bed with the Nightingales. I wasn’t sure who was worse—Nikolai Aster or Logan Nightingale. One of them pretended to be a respectable businessman, while the other one steered clear from the general public and preferred to stick to the shadows.
“I wanted to get Las Vegas back,” I mumbled, but before any of us could react, Hunter’s fist connected with my face, knocking me to the floor.
“You motherfucker!” he screamed as he jumped on me, laying punch after punch. “Piece of shit!” He pressed his knee against my throat, cutting off my air supply. “I should fucking kill you!”
“Hunter! No!” Indigo tried pulling him back, but the adrenaline, the anger, all the other emotions he’s been keeping inside, they all tumbled out, and I was the target. I was the breaking point.
Indigo flew into the chair I was sitting in before, while Atlas and Felix tried to separate the two of us. I didn’t fight because we all knew I deserved this. How many times did I promise myself I would never do this? How many times did I promise them I would always put the club first along with their wishes and needs?
I fucking promised them we would never stoop so low, because working with Logan or Nikolai was worse than walking through Hell. They could give you everything you ever wanted, but just as fast as you got it, they would take it away, breaking you apart.
They almost broke us when their henchman attacked Las Vegas while the rest of us were distracted with a shipment gone wrong. They tortured, raped, and killed innocent people. There were children that had just learned to walk. There were women that had just started living their lives.
There were parents, memories, and they burned it all to the ground.
By the time we arrived at the church, it was already too late. The only thing that was left were the ashes and pain so grave I thought none of us were going to recover. Logan Nightingale wasn’t the one that gave the order, it was Kieran, but I knew they worked together. Even if Kieran hated his father, he used to tell him everything.
“Let go of me!” Hunter screamed as Atlas and Felix held him away from me. My vision blurred and I could taste the blood inside my mouth. I was tempted to let him finish the job. “He shouldn’t have done this!”
No, I shouldn’t have. I should’ve talked to them. I should’ve told them. When the Albanians came to me with the request to help one of their own with the Nightingale heir, the whole club supported it, because it meant that the one who fucked our lives was going to die. But when Logan Nightingale contacted me days after that, I couldn’t say no.
You could’ve, you just didn’t want to.
Okay, I could have said no, but at the mention of Las Vegas and Nikolai Aster’s head on a plate, all coherent thoughts left me and the only thing I could think of was revenge.
“So, what now? You’re his little bitch?” Hunter kept screaming and fighting against Felix and Atlas, while I kept lying on the floor, trying to move my limbs. My face was wet, no doubt from my own blood, and I wasn’t sure if the inability to move came from the punches he threw at me or from this heavy feeling deep within my soul.
Indigo stopped next to me, helping me to get up. No matter how much I fucked up, they always had my back. But this time, I wasn’t sure if our friendship would be able to survive. Hunter’s whole face was red, both from my blood and the anger he was emanating. He resembled a bull, and I was the target.
“Come on.” Indigo pulled me up, almost carrying me to the chair. “You look like shit.”
“Yours isn’t the prettiest face I have seen either, Indigo.”
The fucker only smirked, but I could see the anger brewing in the depths of those dark eyes. They were all disappointed in me, and with a mighty big reason. My head was ringing, but I had to tell them everything. I dragged a hand over my face, wincing as it connected with my nose and I knew, I just knew it was broken.
